Recent Posts

You can follow the blog via email!

Blog

Back in the day, we had a very lovely office with a gorgeous roll top desk from Timeless Treasures in Savoy, a separate spare bedroom, and a bunch of extra space in our house. Then, we had a child and everything changed. The office became an office/spare bedroom hybrid. As the kid became more mobile, the office/spare bedroom gave way to a playroom (with the gorgeous desk still present and a blow up mattress taking the place of a full bed). When the kid got big enough to pinch her fingers in the bi-fold closet doors, more changes were had. The doors went to the basement and some curtains were hung in their place:

Closed closet

But behind those curtains is one of myfavorite spaces in our house:

The wonderful and beautiful Ikea shelves!

Everything is still so neat and tidy. I’ve been known to go into the room, just to admire how organized everything continues to be, usually under the guise of “writing a check.”

We got the giant 4×4 KALLAX shelves from Ikea. It was a beast to install, mainly because of a mis-measuring on my part. It was finally put together INSIDE THE CLOSET. The next owners of our house are going to have to break this thing down to get it out. But seriously, who would take out this giant piece of gorgeous storage?

On top of the closet shelf, I keep extra pillows and the aforementioned blow up mattress (it has a bag that it allegedly fits in, but who can ever get them inside?? It stays sort of folded). The clear bins are art and craft supplies for me and the kid. We have a row of office supplies storage and then towards the bottom, some toys and books for when the kid is older.

As you can see, we’ve still got some empty space because as I can already tell, more changes are coming our way. With a kid, they always are.

Have you ever noticed how one false move can change the course of your entire day or even your week? Not putting together a grocery list causes you to forget stuff from the store, causing you to order take out, causing you to waste food and money. Or not folding the last load of laundry slows up the rest of the wash for the day. Some days it feels like this:

For me, it was not having enough “me” time during the day. I would wake up, get ready for the day, take the kid to school, go to work, pick the kid up, prep dinner, hang out with friends or husband, then finally go to bed. Not getting my alone time could bring my entire week to a halt. I’d be cranky and short with my family. I could feel it coming on. I knew the exact cause. And I did nothing to change it.

Now, my day starts at 5:00 am (WHY?!?!?!? asks 23-year-old me). My kid gets up between 5:15 and 6:00 am so it’s great to have that me time to eat breakfast by myself. In front of the TV. With whatever I want to watch. Some days, I can barely get my bagel out of the bag before she gets up. But some very rare, magical days, I get to watch a segment of The Kitchen, or even an entire episode of Fixer Upper.

What about you guys? Shout out to all the members of the 5:00 am club!! Is there any domino effect in your life and is there anything you can do to change it?

You gotta try to organize where you can. On Thursdays, I’ll show you guys some small tips and tricks that work in my house. No styling, no clean ups before. Just a quick snapshot of real life in our house.

Playroom containers

I bought this shelf and baskets from Bed, Bath and Beyond for $8 total (thank you 20% off coupons!). It’s in our office/playroom keeping a small puzzle, stuffed animals and little books in their own space.

My favorite thing is that this idea came from one person’s comment on another post. You never know where inspiration will come from! Listen, you know yourself. If you or your family always take your shoes off in the living room, then put a basket there to toss them into. If worn, but not yet dirty, clothes are always left on the floor in one area of the bedroom, then put a laundry basket in that area of the room to keep everything corralled (this one comes from experience – there is a basket in my bedroom!). If mail always ends up on the kitchen counter, put an inbox at the end to keep it in one place.

Give it a try and see if you notice a difference! If you need help figuring out which habit’s habitats could change, contact me today!